AI-Assisted Intercultural EFL Pedagogy: An Activity-Theoretical Teaching Model for Cultural Awareness and Communication

This study proposes a three-stage AI-assisted intercultural EFL pedagogy model structured as experience–reflection–creation to address the persistent challenges of superficial cultural teaching and the separation between language learning and cultural awareness development. Grounded in activity theory and sociocultural theory, AI functions in this framework as both a transformative mediating tool and a cultural–cognitive partner, systematically reshaping instructional elements and guiding students from multicultural experience and critical comparative reflection to creative cultural communication. Using the lesson “New Year Celebrations Around the World” as an instructional case, classroom implementation demonstrates that the model effectively fosters the integrated development of intercultural communicative competence and cultural awareness at both cognitive and practical levels. The study offers a theoretically grounded and classroom-feasible pathway for integrating generative AI into intercultural English education.